Mike Minor pitches, powers red-hot Braves past Mets

NEW YORK -- Start-by-start over the years, the Atlanta Braves have seen Mike Minor emerging as a young, talented pitcher.

Perhaps as a hitter, too.

Minor homered for his first two RBIs in the majors and struck out 10 as the Atlanta Braves posted their second win in a matter of hours, beating the New York Mets 6-0 Saturday for their eighth straight victory.

"He's been fun to watch," Atlanta manager Fredi Gonzalez said, later adding, "he's a good athlete."

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Earlier, Dan Uggla hit a go-ahead single in the 10th inning and the Braves won 7-5 in the resumption of a game suspended because of rain Friday night after eight innings with the score tied.

Minor (6-2) then pitched 7 1/3 innings of three-hit ball, sending the Mets to their fifth loss in a row overall and eighth straight at Citi Field.

Minor was hardly a force at the plate coming in -- he was a paltry 8 for 108 (.074) in four seasons, striking out in exactly half of those at-bats. He perked up for his first two-hit game in the majors.

"Streaky," he kidded.

In the third inning, Minor singled to become the Braves' first baserunner of the game, and a bat boy brought him a warmup jacket on a blustery, cool evening. The next time up in the fifth, with a light rain, the 25-year-old lefty never had time to get chilly.

Despite gusts that kept knocking down fly balls, Minor hit a two-run drive inside the left field foul pole off Dillon Gee (2-6) that broke a scoreless tie.

"Got to have power, like me," Minor said with a grin.

Minor homered for the first time since his senior year of high school, and it touched off a five-run burst. Minor connected after a two-out single by Chris Johnson, and they smiled the whole way from home plate back to the bench.

Minor's teammates celebrated the shot, too, and big first baseman Freddie Freeman hugged the pitcher and playfully jumped up and down with him in the dugout.

Catcher Brian McCann, however, reminded Minor that there was still work to do on the mound.

"All of a sudden, seemed I just got in the stretch and I just lost it," Gee said.

"I got to keep looking forward, keep working hard. If I keep looking back on the past there's nothing good there right now," he said.

There was a brief delay when Minor batted in the seventh because the wind whipped up the dirt and blew more than 150 hot dog wrappers and other pieces of debris all over the field. Stadium workers cleared the mess when the half-inning ended, shortly after Freeman's second RBI single.

There was a fireworks show after the game. The seats were nearly empty, with few bundled-up fans sticking around.

The Braves and Mets took 42 minutes to complete the resumption, and there was a 36-minute break between the games.

The suspended game picked up right where it left off, at the start of the ninth inning. There was no national anthem, fans were scattered in the stands and it was cloudy and windy with temperatures in the low 50s.

After Upton grounded into an inning-ending double play with runners at the corners in the Atlanta ninth, the Braves won it in the 10th.

Freeman, who homered Friday night before the rain came, drew a leadoff walk from Brandon Lyon (1-2) and took third on a double by McCann.

Uggla, who hit a late home run the previous night at Citi Field, followed with his tiebreaking single. B.J. Upton later squeezed home pinch-runner Jordan Schafer.

Anthony Varvaro (2-0) pitched a scoreless ninth. He worked the eighth a day earlier and gave up two runs that made it 5-all.

Craig Kimbrel escaped a two-on, no-out jam in the 10th for his 15th save in 18 tries.

The Braves' previous suspended game was April 5, 1997, against the Cubs -- it was the second game ever played at Turner Field and was stopped because of rain in the seventh inning. Atlanta won the resumption the next day.

The Mets lost in their first suspended game since Aug. 6, 1986, when the second game of a doubleheader against the Cubs was halted after the seventh for darkness -- Wrigley Field didn't have lights then. The Mets won the completion the next day.

Game notes

The Braves pitched their fourth shutout of the season. The Mets have been blanked three times. ... Atlanta has won five straight at Citi Field. ... Ike Davis singled in the Mets 10th. He'd struck out in all four at-bats Friday night, leaving him in a 1-for-42 rut. He struck out as a pinch-hitter in the second game, and remains hitless in his last 26 tries with runners in scoring position. ... Braves RHP Julio Teheran (3-1, 3.99) starts Sunday night vs. RHP Shaun Marcum (0-5, 6.59). ... Heyward started in CF for the first time since last Aug. 1.